The present invention relates to wireless communication services, and, more particularly, is directed to enabling one cellular telephone to appear to be an extension of another cellular telephone.
Presently, a cellular telephone line is associated with one cellular telephone set, whereas a wire line can be associated with plural telephone sets. Consequently, cellular telephone users, both commercial and residential, are precluded from advantages available to wire line users having wire line extension phones such as the convenience of rapid dialing between extension telephone sets and cost savings due to aggregating usage.
A regulation of the Federal Communications Commission, 47 C.F.R. xc2xa7 22.919, prohibits tampering with an electronic serial number (ESN), which is the unique identifier of a cellular mobile transmitter. In other words, it is illegal to provide a cellular extension telephone by altering the ESN of a first cellular telephone to be the same as the ESN of a second cellular telephone.
In accordance with an aspect of this invention, a method of and a system for configuring cellular telephones to share a cellular telephone line number are provided in which one of the cellular telephones is defined as a parent and the other cellular telephones are defined as extensions.
Identification information for the extension cellular telephones is included in a data record associated with the parent cellular telephone, and identification information for the parent cellular telephone is included in data records respectively associated with the extension cellular telephones.
A data record associates the shared cellular telephone line number with the parent and extension cellular telephones.
A call is set up to a cellular telephone line number having a plurality of associated cellular telephones, by using the cellular telephone number to obtain information identifying the plurality of associated cellular telephones, and delivering call setup signals to at least two of the associated cellular telephones. The call setup signals are delivered simultaneously or sequentially.
Alternatively, a call is set up by delivering an audible menu signal to the caller, translating a response signal received from the caller to a selected one of the cellular telephones associated with the cellular telephone line number, and delivering a call setup signal to the selected cellular telephone.
A first cellular telephone interrupts a call in progress of a second cellular telephone sharing a cellular telephone line number with the first cellular telephone by having a central facility receive an interrupt request signal from the first cellular telephone, produce an interrupt notice signal, and transmit the interrupt notice signal to the second cellular telephone.
A first cellular telephone places a call to a second cellular telephone sharing a cellular telephone line number with the first cellular telephone by having a central facility receive an intercom extension number associated with the first cellular telephone from the second cellular telephone, and deliver a call setup request to the first cellular telephone.
It is not intended that the invention be summarized here in its entirety. Rather, further features, aspects and advantages of the invention are set forth in or are apparent from the following description and drawings.